Risky borrowing, emergency measures and other news

2022. August 25.

As autumn approaches, we are not without news from the sector.

Moratorium could be risky for farmers

The government has granted a moratorium on the repayment of agricultural loans, but the Banking Association recommends that businesses facing payment difficulties should instead try to negotiate with their bank and reach a mutually beneficial agreement for the future.

The moratorium imposed by the government will last from September this year until the end of next year and applies to loans taken out by agricultural businesses to finance investments or to purchase current assets.
It is not compulsory and it is up to the farmers to decide whether or not to take advantage of this possibility.
The Banking Association is sceptical about the deferral option and therefore cautions farmers against using it, but rather urges them to try to reach a bilateral compromise with the bank that will not hamper the business in the future but will help it to develop.
The Banking Association fears that the government regulation will have a negative impact on those who defer later borrowing, and that this could lead to serious risks in the future.
The drought and other factors have put many agricultural businesses in a difficult situation, which is why the government has taken this step, thinking that it will give a lifeline to agricultural businesses, but leaving it up to them to decide whether to take advantage of the opportunity.
The banks seem to be on the side of farmers, partnering them in finding a good solution and willing to help them with additional loans.

Exceptional measures

In the context of the energy emergency, the government has imposed an export ban on energy commodities, including firewood.
Minister of Agriculture István Nagy presented the decree, published in the Hungarian Gazette, which was issued in response to the energy crisis caused by the war and the Brussels sanctions.
Under the decree, the government will not allow the export of energy products.
He also included firewood, which he said was of strategic importance.
In this spirit, it will definitely control and prevent the export of firewood, and may even exercise its right of pre-emption.
It intends to achieve this by imposing an obligation to notify the National Food Chain Safety Office (NÉBIH) not only on organisations but also on individuals who intend to sell firewood to a foreign country.
If the notification is made and the NÉBIH assesses that there is a domestic need for the wood to be exported in order to ensure domestic supply, the government will activate its right of first refusal and, through certain state forestry enterprises, will buy up the stock to be sold and then recycle the purchased goods back into the domestic market.
The government stresses that this should not be seen as a ban, as the legislation is specifically designed to meet the energy needs of the people of our country, because this firewood will serve social purposes and public functions of the state and local governments. The Minister of Agriculture also underlined the important role of firewood in the domestic supply of energy and pointed out that wood is also a renewable energy source.
He also pointed out that the amount of wood harvested annually is less than the amount of wood used in the forest – approx.
6.5 million cubic metres net, is less than the natural increment of forests, so access to this energy source can be guaranteed for a long time to come.
There is no need to fear that forests will be damaged in the future.
Given that, subject to official controls, an additional 1.3 cubic metres of firewood can be felled this year by state forestry companies, this will not endanger the forests.
István Nagy also informed that the European Union leadership has admitted that there is a gas shortage, so there is a possibility that the use of this energy carrier will be restricted in EU countries.
He attributed the reason for this to the war between Russia and Ukraine and the retaliatory measures imposed on Russia.
The government is trying to compensate for the domestic situation, not only by buying more gas but also by expanding domestic production.
The introduction of the exceptional measure of banning the export of firewood also serves this purpose.

Easier rules for cutting wood

The Hungarian State Treasury drew attention to the fact that the conditions for maintaining the “Good Agricultural and Environmental Status” and the “Determination of the conversion rate of animals to animal units 50/2008.
(IV. 24.)
FVM rendelet 1.
mellékletének 7.
pontjában foglalt fa-és bokorcsoportok megőrzésére vonatkozó jogszabály rendelkezései változatlanul hatályban vannak.
A rendelkezés értelmében a jövőben sem szabad a Mezőgazdasági Parcellaazonosító Rendszerben (MePAR) dokumentált magányosan álló fákat kivágni, valamint kivágási tilalom van érvényben március elsejétől augusztus 31-éig, azaz a költési és fiókanevelési periódusban nemcsak a fákra, de a bokrokra, sövényekre is.
Ez alól felmentés nem adható, ugyanis a tiltás EU-s szabályozás hatálya alá tartozik.
Ahhoz, hogy a gazdálkodók részesülhessenek kompenzációs támogatásban, az erdőterv előírásait kötelezően be kell tartani.